In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. We also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of plum tree, which has been denominated varietally as ‘Blackred VII’.
During a typical blooming season we isolate as seed parents both individual and groups of different plum and interspecific trees by covering them with screen houses. A hive of bees is placed inside each such house, and bouquets to provide pollen from different plum, apricot, and interspecific hybrid trees are placed in buckets near the trees approximately every two days for the duration of the bloom. During 2001 one such house containing ‘19P442’ plum tree (unpatented) was crossed by us in this manner. To pollinate this plum tree, we selected bouquets from several sources of plum trees without keeping specific written details. Upon reaching maturity the fruit from this plum tree was harvested, and the seeds were removed, cracked, stratified and germinated as a group with the label “H8A”. They were grown as seedlings on their own root in our greenhouse and upon reaching dormancy transplanted to a cultivated area of our experimental orchard located near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). During the summer of 2006 the claimed variety was selected by us as a single plant from the group of seedlings described above. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of plum tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original tree in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of ‘Nemaguard’ (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, ‘19P442’ (unpatented) plum tree, by being a medium to large size tree, by blooming in the mid season, by being self-unfruitful, and by producing fruit that is oblate in shape, black in skin color, and mostly red in flesh color, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is firmer in texture, sweeter in flavor, and that ripens about thirty days later.
The present variety is most similar to ‘Blackred III’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,668) interspecific tree, by having a vigorous tree, by being self-unfruitful, by being productive, and by producing fruit that is mostly black in skin color, that is mostly red in flesh color, that is firm in texture, that is clingstone in type, and that is sweet in flavor, but is distinguished therefrom by blooming about seven days later and by producing fruit that is somewhat smaller in size and that matures about ten days later.